mitch mcconnell, the republican leader in the senate says, you know, what my goal is to make barack obama a one-term president. they're supposed to be leaders of the legislative branch of the government, not party hacks. and we have a system now, you know, that is all about looking toward the next election, how we do that. >> this is a strong indictment of the polarization of the two parties. >> yeah. >> but isn't the country also very polarized? >> the country is very polarized in some senses. but you also find the american people saying, "solve the problem. don't go over a fiscal cliff." or, you know, "pay our bills," or, "do something about the budget." now, i think even though the people tend to not be open to a lot of different views, they want the people they elect to make government work. >> so, we have created a political system that rewards intransigence. >> we've created a system that says, "we reward incivility. we reward refusal to compromise. we punish people who compromise and are civil and get along well with the people on the other side of the aisle." so, why are we surpri